What Is Dutch Processing In Chocolate? Alkalised Cocoa Explained
Dutch processing is the treatment of cocoa with an alkali to raise its pH. It is applied to beans, nibs or powder during manufacture, it is sometimes called Dutching or alkalisation, and Dutch processing in chocolate and cocoa products is done mainly to change colour and reduce sharpness. It is not a grade, a quality tier or a flavour of chocolate.
It is also one of the few manufacturing steps with a measured, published cost attached to it, and that cost is almost never mentioned on a pack. Two separate 2008 surveys of commercial cocoa powders put numbers on what alkalisation removes.
What alkalisation does to pH
Miller and colleagues surveyed commercial cocoa powders for the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2008 and sorted them by extractable pH, which is the practical measure of how heavily a powder has been treated. They record natural, untreated cocoas sitting at an extractable pH of 5.3 to 5.8. Alkalised powders climb from there.
That pH shift is the point of the exercise for a manufacturer. It darkens the powder — the same survey covers brown, black and red cocoa powders as separate commercial categories — and it takes the edge off a sharp, acidic natural cocoa. If you have ever wondered why a supermarket drinking chocolate is almost black while a craft bar is reddish brown, this is most of the answer.
What it takes out, in milligrams
The Miller survey reported average total flavanol contents across its alkalisation categories. The gradient is steep and, the authors note, close to linear against pH.
| Alkalisation level | Mean total flavanols (mg/g) |
|---|---|
| Natural (untreated) | 34.6 ± 6.8 |
| Lightly alkalised | 13.8 ± 7.3 |
| Medium alkalised | 7.8 ± 4.0 |
| Heavily alkalised | 3.9 ± 1.8 |
A second 2008 paper in the same journal, by Andres-Lacueva and colleagues, looked at major cocoa powder brands on the Spanish market and reached the same conclusion from a different angle. They report that alkalinisation produced a 60% loss of mean total flavonoid content, with (-)-epicatechin down 67% and (+)-catechin down 38%, and quercetin down 86%.
Their measured ranges across commercial products show how wide the spread is: (-)-epicatechin from 116.02 to 730.26 micrograms per gram, (+)-catechin from 81.40 to 447.62 micrograms per gram. That is a sixfold difference between products sitting on the same shelf under the same category name.
Both papers are surveys of what was on sale, not controlled trials, and neither followed a single batch through a line. They describe composition. They say nothing about what any of it does in a person, and neither does this page.
Why manufacturers do it anyway
There is a real tension here and it is worth stating plainly rather than treating alkalisation as a villain. A heavily alkalised black cocoa is the only way to get certain colours and certain mild, rounded profiles. For a biscuit filling or an industrial drinking chocolate, that is the specification, and natural cocoa simply will not deliver it.
The problem is not the process. The problem is that the process is invisible to the buyer. A pack can say "cocoa" and mean a powder at either end of that 34.6 to 3.9 mg/g range, and nothing on the front panel distinguishes them.
How to spot it on a label
- Read the ingredients list, not the front. Alkalisation is declared there when it applies, not in the product name.
- Look for an alkalising agent. Potassium carbonate and similar carbonates in a cocoa product are the treatment itself.
- Treat colour as evidence. A very dark, almost black cocoa powder is unlikely to be natural.
- Treat "cocoa" and "cacao" as no guide at all. The spelling carries no legal or processing meaning.
The de-fatting step often travels with alkalisation in the same product, which is a separate change to what ends up in the packet. We set the two apart in how whole cacao and de-fatted cocoa powder differ, and the compounds the surveys above were measuring are described further in what the alkaloids and polyphenols in cacao are.
What's actually in a Chaski tube
Chaski is a 600 g tube of dark chocolate buttons at 77% cacao, made from single-origin Peruvian and Ecuadorian cacao with coconut sugar, Lion's Mane as a fruiting body extract and Cordyceps sinensis mycelium. The cacao is low-temperature ground. The ingredients list carries no alkalising agent, no emulsifiers, no seed oils, no palm oil and no added cane sugar.
We do not publish a flavanol figure for Chaski, because we have not measured one, and a number we have not measured is not a number we will print. The figures above belong to the cocoa powders those two papers surveyed, not to this product. Every batch is tested for lead, cadmium and pesticides, and the daily dose on the pack is four buttons. The full declaration sits on the Chaski Cacao product page, with our other label notes in the Chaski guides library and a walkthrough of ingredient panels in how to read a food label properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Dutch processed mean on a chocolate label?
It means the cocoa was treated with an alkali during manufacture to raise its pH. Miller and colleagues, writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2008, give natural untreated cocoas an extractable pH of 5.3 to 5.8, with alkalised powders rising above that band. The treatment darkens the powder and softens a sharp, acidic natural cocoa. It is a processing description, not a quality grade, and the same product name can cover treated and untreated cocoa.
Is Dutch processed cocoa the same as natural cocoa?
No, they differ measurably in composition. The 2008 Miller survey reported mean total flavanols of 34.6 mg/g in natural cocoa powders, 13.8 mg/g lightly alkalised, 7.8 mg/g medium and 3.9 mg/g heavily alkalised. Andres-Lacueva and colleagues, in the same journal and year, found a 60% loss of mean total flavonoid content on alkalinisation of Spanish market powders. Both were surveys of commercial products rather than controlled experiments, so the figures describe what was on sale.
Why do manufacturers alkalise cocoa?
Mostly for colour and for a milder, less acidic profile. The 2008 Miller survey treats brown, black and red cocoa powders as distinct commercial categories, and the deep colours associated with industrial drinking chocolate and dark biscuit doughs come from heavier treatment. Natural cocoa cannot produce those shades. For a manufacturer writing a specification around appearance and consistency, alkalisation is the tool that meets it, which is why the practice is widespread rather than marginal.
Can you tell if chocolate is Dutch processed by looking at it?
Colour is suggestive but not conclusive. A very dark, almost black cocoa powder is unlikely to be natural, while a reddish brown one may be lightly treated or untreated. The reliable check is the ingredients list, where an alkalising agent such as a carbonate is declared when one has been used. The words "cocoa" and "cacao" tell you nothing, since neither spelling carries a legal or processing meaning in Great Britain.
Does Dutch processing change the taste?
That is the stated reason for doing it alongside colour. Raising the pH reduces the acidity of a natural cocoa, which is sharp and fruity at the untreated end of the range. The 2008 Miller survey sorted powders by extractable pH precisely because the degree of treatment sits on a continuum rather than being on or off, with natural cocoas at pH 5.3 to 5.8 and treated powders above. Lightly and heavily treated cocoas are different products on the palate.
Sources
- Miller K B, Hurst W J, Payne M J, Stuart D A, Apgar J, Sweigart D S and Ou B, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008, 56(18), 8527-8533
- Andres-Lacueva C, Monagas M, Khan N, Izquierdo-Pulido M, Urpi-Sarda M, Permanyer J and Lamuela-Raventós R M, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008, 56(9), 3111-3117